Best Student Loans Without A Co-Signer Of September 2023

When a co-signer backs a loan, they’re essentially agreeing to take on the responsibility of repayment if the actual borrower cannot. It’s a big commitment, and although co-signers can be very beneficial, the reality is that not everyone has someone they can rely on to ask.

The good news is that there are student loans that don’t require having a co-signer — and your on-time monthly payments on these loans can help you build credit. If you’re looking to finance your education and you don’t have a parent or other individual to co-sign your loans, first turn to federal direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans, which don’t require borrowers to have co-signers or a minimum credit score (except for PLUS loans, which are designed for graduate students).

Once you’ve exhausted federal loans and find yourself still needing funding, turn to a private lender. Below, CNBC Select reviews the top student loans without a co-signer based on eligibility requirements, availability, amounts, interest rates, terms, repayment options, borrower protections and any bonus features. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best student loans without a co-signer.)

Ascent Funding offers private student loans without a co-signer to qualifying undergraduate juniors and seniors, as well as graduate students. The private lender considers borrowers without established credit, as well as those who meet the minimum credit requirements but not the income or repayment requirements. In these cases, the lender looks at other factors like a borrower’s school, program, graduation date, major, GPA, cost of attendance and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

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With Funding U, eligible undergraduate borrowers can get access to co-signer-free student loans. Funding U determines eligibility by considering factors like school graduation rate, class hours completed, estimated graduation date, academic record, major and employment or internship experience — basically all factors that illustrate a borrower’s likelihood to land a job and thus eventually repay their loans given.

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Edly Student Loans offer co-signer-free options for qualifying juniors, seniors and graduate students on an income-based repayment term — meaning your payments are flexible and adjust based on your income ($30,000 minimum income threshold). With this income-based model, payments are recalculated annually as a percentage of your current annual salary so you aren’t overextending yourself to pay off your debt. Eligibility includes majoring in a supported program; Edly looks at schools, majors and graduation dates to see if borrowers qualify.

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Many private student loan servicers require borrowers to be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents in order to take out a loan, which is why MPOWER Financing stands out. In addition to U.S. citizens, international students, DACA recipients, refugees and asylum-seekers who are undergraduate or graduate students can apply for MPOWER’s non-cosigned loans to study in the U.S. and Canada; loans are based on borrowers’ future earnings. These loans can help international students, specifically, establish and build a credit history in the U.S.

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Prodigy Finance is an international loan provider that lends non-cosigned student loans to those studying abroad for a master’s degree. Prodigy loans are represented in over a dozen countries around the world, helping students cover their tuition and living costs. Prodigy bases its lending on data on a borrower’s future earning potential and accepts borrowers with no credit history whatsoever.

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Ascent Funding borrowers can get loan amounts up to $200,000 for undergraduate loans and $400,000 for graduate loans, in addition to customizing their loan repayment terms ranging from five to 15 years, choosing between a fixed or a variable rate and paying off their loan early penalty-free. Ascent also offers rewards like 1% cash back on principal loan amounts at graduation, as well as up to a 1% interest rate discount if you set up auto-payments on your non-cosigned student loan. There are also deferment and forbearance options available to borrowers.

Eligible borrowers

Qualifying undergraduate juniors and seniors, graduate students

Loan amounts

Up to $400,000

Loan terms

5 to 15 years

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Funding U offers co-signer-free student loans up to $20,000 per school year. These loans come with fixed interest rates, meaning your rate (and thus monthly payment) will stay the same over the life of your loan and there’s no prepayment penalty. All Funding U loans have a 10-year repayment term and there’s a 0.5% interest rate discount available to students who make interest-only payments while in school. There are also forbearance options available to borrowers. Plus, Funding U assigns one of its loan officers to each borrower who’s preapproved so they can get hands-on help with their loan offer, repayment, etc.

Funding U’s loans are only available to residents in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. (Terms and conditions vary by state. Loan type and loan amount availability may vary by state.)

Eligible borrowers

Qualifying undergraduate borrowers

Loan amounts

Up to $20,000 per school year

Loan terms

10 years

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With Edly Student Loans, repayment terms are 84 months or seven years, with variable interest rates and there’s up to a $25,000 total lifetime borrowing limit. Students with non-cosigned loans aren’t required to make payments while in school, which is a perk unique to Edly. Deferment and forbearance are available. Borrowers can also earn rewards by enrolling in autopay and by making on-time payments. Edly has Career Counselors and its own Student Success Team for help with academic things like study prep.

Edly Student Loans are available to residents of all states except Colorado, Vermont, Maine, West Virginia and Iowa.

Eligible borrowers

Qualifying juniors, seniors or graduate students

Loan amounts

Up to $25,000 total lifetime borrowing limit

Loan terms

84 months or 7 years

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MPOWER Financing’s non-cosigned loans have a 10-year repayment term and loan amounts go up to $100,000, with fixed interest rates (meaning your rate and monthly payment won’t ever change). Funding can help borrowers pay for living expenses at U.S. schools, and borrowers can earn a 0.25% rate discount when signing up for autopay. There’s no prepayment penalty.

MPOWER also offers benefits alongside funding, such as visa support, career development specifically for international students, as well as automatic prequalification for a Zolve Credit Card and bank account when you have an MPOWER loan. The no-annual-fee card helps users with no credit history build credit in the U.S.

Eligible borrowers

U.S. citizens, international students, DACA recipients, refugees and asylum-seekers who are undergraduate or graduate students

Loan amounts

Up to $100,000

Loan terms

10 years

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Prodigy Finance offers student loan repayment terms ranging from seven to 20 years, with variable interest rates. The maximum loan amount that an international student is able to borrow depends on the university and program they choose, as well as their future earning potential.

There’s no prepayment penalty and forbearance options are also offered. Prodigy does not require students to make payments while in school, a standout perk, and the lender supports students with career services and networking events.

Prodigy adds an admin fee of 5% of the amount you borrow to your total loan amount and loans are currently only in USD.

Eligible borrowers

Students studying abroad for a master’s degree

Loan amounts

Dependent on student

Loan terms

7 to 20 years

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Federal student loans are the best financing option without a co-signer because they typically offer lower interest rates than private student loans, as well as plenty of borrower protections like income-driven repayment plans, hardship options and loan forgiveness. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form to take advantage of all federal student loan options and financial aid available to you for college or graduate school.

After you’ve submitted the FAFSA form and maxed out your federal loan and aid options, check out these private student loan lenders that don’t require a co-signer. This list can be a good next step to help finance your education, as long as you keep in mind that you’re likely to pay a higher interest rate than if you used a co-signer. Most private lenders have prequalification or preapproval tools on their websites to help you compare rates before signing up.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every student loan review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of student loan products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best student loan lenders.

To determine which student loans are the best for borrowers who don’t have a co-signer, CNBC Select narrowed down a list of private lenders that directly offer non-cosigned loans (since many don’t). After creating a list, we then compared these student loans based on the following factors:

• What it takes to qualify
• Loan availability by state
• Loan amounts offered
• Loan interest rates (fixed or variable)
• Loan terms in years
• Loan repayment options
• Borrower protections like deferment or forbearance
• Bonus features like autopay rate discounts

Interest rates offered on student loans vary and can change. Non-cosigned student loans often have higher interest rates than student loans with a co-signer. Before taking out student loans through a private lender, first fill out the FAFSA form to see how much you can borrow in federal aid.

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